"Thank goodness, me and my children are finally settled. No longer do we have to worry about going from shelter to shelter. Now that we have a home, I don’t want to be bothered by nobody, I don’t want to get involved with anything. I just want to be left alone."

This feeling is expressed by many people once they become residents in public or assisted housing. Because of previous bad experiences, often people decide to stay to themselves.

Low Income Housing (whether it be Public Housing or Section 8 Multifamily) consists of all kinds of people from different walks of life. Frequently this diverse group of people have endured struggles and/or hardships, so, once they are placed in housing (as temporary as it may be), they feel the sense of belonging, security, and stability. Because of all they’ve been through, they refuse to get involved.

As an organizer of low income residents, I expect obstacles to stand in my way. I am aware of the never ending struggles that "seem" to exist in everyday living. However, I thought the problems and the hindrances that I’d have to confront would come from the housing authorities and other "outside" organizations. Often times it does happen this way, but that isn’t always the case. This brings me to my next point.

The biggest problems that we organizers and community leaders face are those with the long term residents who have the "I’ve done it" syndrome. Because of failures they experienced in the past, they refuse to cooperate, or just simply move out of the way. They do this without realizing that there are decisions being made that affect us the residents. And, usually the decision makers are not the residents. The people (local housing authority, private managers, as well as outside agencies) making these decisions aren’t fully qualified – because the input from the residents has not been fully considered, nor do they always have the residents’ best interest in mind. Decisions will continue to be made by others, (such as Moving To Work) that will cause changes in low income housing as we know it today. This will continue to happen until residents together stand up with a unified voice and organize around issues that affect you, your family, and your community.

One person from a community can not do it alone. The Lone Ranger died many, many years ago. And he was noted for being a hero. In subsidized housing, the Lone Ranger is considered to be a "busy body" or a "trouble maker". We need at least a small group of people to think, work, and act together. Where do you stand? Will you sit there and complain – or act as if problems don’t exist? Will you compromise your and your family’s quality of life and say "everything is alright where I stay," while you know the very apartment in which you live needs improvements.

The choice is yours to make. If we as residents don’t change the preconceived image of subsidized housing and the residents that live there, then very little changing will be done at all. When managers begin to say that they feel apathetic towards residents, or we (the residents) are just looking for hand out – and we do nothing to alter their opinion of us, then whatever happens, happens!